Stone-gatherer.



0. F..RE|TER.

sToNe GATHERER. 0 APPLICATION FILED JUNEZ, 1917 Patented Apr. 8,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

(IHM um:

` o'. F. REITER.

STONE GATHERER.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2, i917.

lvlatented Apr. 8, 1919.

1,300,018' 2 'sHETs-sHEET 2- F .L EQ@ r i ng?v gg) ,/67' I4 A 35 a9: 5| g5 3354 15 i@ Q7 l f 11 50' l/ 0 I 10 41 w la a0 4d I 512 l 11 343 45 534 19 vv w 4@ 2a 33 5g U 44 24a! OF. REITER y o'rrs'r. aniram QERELAYMRYLAND.. v

Y STbivii-'Gaiirriinnitg To all .w wfmlt may Concern Be it known that I, Oris F.

in the county of Baltimore` and State; of

Maryland, have invented certain newr'andf useful Improvementsin Stone-Gatherers, .of which the following is a speeieatioir, jref-r erence being, had to .the accompanying drawings. z

This invention Vrelates .to machines for gathering stones, and particularly to a machine 'of this character in thenature ofla rake. f

The general object of myf'invention is tof provide a machine which will"rake up the stones in a eld andk convey the-stones to*V a* eonveyer trough or easing from l which the" stones may be carried in any suitable oonveyer and disposed in -awagonl traveling alongside of :the gatheringmaehine. i

A further object is to providea machine" of this character havingy a ,pluralityof raker` teeth, a plurality of liftingteeth radially:

disposedaround the aXle of themahine and moving upward kand rearward over the faces of the raker teeth, and a plurality of. oonveyer teeth by which the Astonesy as theyare carried aroundl by the lifting;- teeth are guided into a eonveyertrough and an eleva-` tor trough. g Y g f A further object of the inventionvis Vto provide means whereby the lifting teeth may be so mounted upon Ithe aXle aste be vreadily replaeed in ease of breakage and in this cion-A neotion to providek means which will tend' to` prevent breakage VVof the rakerteeth and ofa the conveyer teeth by the blocking of stonesy between these teeth.

A further object is to provide meansy whereby the raker teeth maybe lifted out of or into operativeposition.

the following description.` ,f. My invention is illustratedinjthe aecompanying drawings, lwhereinz i l y kFigure 1 `is* a frontl elevation of a stone gathering machine leonstruotedl in accordance with section; Y y p Fig. 2 is longitudinal seetionof thereonf struction shown in Fig. 1; y Fig. 3 is a Vertical seetionalyiewon the line 3*-3 of Fig. 4;

Specification of Letteisflatentj; v Appiiatiop inea Jugez,1917.51seriaiiraiiaam:

zen 'of the United States, residing atzRelay,

.Other obj eets will appear in'the course".`

my invention, the framebeing iny ehain Patented apr. 8,1919.

" Fig. 5 is asideelevation.oftlieeenyeyer"I Fig. y6 is atop `flew ofthe conveyei' chain;

Fig .71 .-isfa ufragmentary side elevation show-ing the i'bearing for the axle;

v Fig 8 'sa'vertieal sectionalviewf through the bearing;V i A .-Fig. 9 is a -fpers'peiictivel detailed View ofone ofthe trip teeth; p Fig.' ll0 isa fragmentary Vertical sectional .View through thefbra'eket 44V, showing a trip tooth -ingtheact of tripping. V- f ,1

Fig.' llis `an' elevation ofla'portion 0f the sha`ft112 showing in seetionftlie mannersin! whiehthe` members l5l areloosely supported @upon the shaft, tliebeamsll andthe bearings G0' .beingl also.y in section 7, 1'

i Referring. to the drawings'5510-A designates al frame of suitable 'eonstruetion,. and

including` thezlongitudinally 'extending side f beamsll, whieh are 'spaced from'eaeh. other and braced any suitableinanne Rotatablyjmounted between these beams `l1 and,

uponj the ends of the jaXle are the traction wheelsYV 14,thesetraetion wheels beingeone` nested-to theaXle/by means of any suitablel .80, f of 4course, 'extending transversely of the- Vfiiz'unfe, is aiiaXle 12,.'.the middle portion Vof f a this axle for yany suitable distance between rthe wheels, beingsquareas at 13. l Mounted;- a

pawl andy ratchet-mechanism aso that wlien the maehiiielinoves forward',v rotation wil'lrbef i given to the aXle, .but when the machine-is Y backed-1119, 'the `wheels 14 willniove without -reversely rotatingthe axle'.r4 Mounted V upon the ends of the aXl/e are supporting members..

15, whiohxare looselymoiinted upon the yaide as illustrated in Fig. 12, and permitthe ayle;y to rotaterwithin .they supporting members.V

vEaehsuppCiting. member is formed. witlia" Y rearwardlyopening 'socket-"land a down! Y `wafrdly;,andreariiiardly opening sooljzetgl.v '5

Disposedl iii ',thejfirst.namedsooketis the rearwardlyiextending barwlSand in the see-v oiid vnamed soeketthe downwardlyv andfrearwardlyezitending bar I9. .The rearwardly barsli)` arenconiie'cted vatL their.` endsby a "extending bars 18 are. connected means transversely extending barQl. Att'aehedat y l y theiruppereiids tothe'bar'20 aiidext'ending Fig. 4 `is a section on, the lline fi-lg'of downwardly andforwardly in a Curve are the raker teeth 22, which extendfo'ver the inf ner face ofthe bar 21 andare riveted or otherwise attached thereto and extend beyond this bar 21, and are provided .with raker teeth points 23 which are preferably made detachable and preferably made so that the angle of the points 23 may be changed. y I have illustrated the raker teeth points 23 as being connected to the raker teeth by means of bolts 24 and beveled washers 23a and such a construction permits of the change of conformation in the points and Ya change' in the adjustment of the teeth 23.

' The rake formed by the spaced raker teeth normallyV rests upon the surface of the ground by its own weight, but the raker f teeth'may be'lifted by means of Va cable or Y is rotated by means of a leven 28. Preferlably this lever 28'is engaged with the windcablesf25 attached Vto one or both of the bars 18 and extending Vupward over a pulley or like device 26 and then extending forward and woundV upon aV winding drum 27, which ing drum by means of a pawl 29 engaging with a ratchet 30. y Any other axleof this charactenhowever, may be used. By this means the raker teeth may be raised or depressed to any desiredextent. The forward end of the frame V10 is supported upon bolsters in the usual manner, the lower bolster being supported upon any suitable steering wheeler wheels 31 and'having a tongue 32 extending from the truck thus formed.

Mounted upon the square axle l2 are a series of lifting teeth, each tooth being designated 33. These teeth are disposed in Y staggered relation to the teeth 22 and mount- Vlo edV upon the axle in the following manner. Engaging the axle and .rotating therewith are a plurality of disks 34, each of these disks being made in two sections A and B. Eachof these sections is cut away so-as to embrace half of tlhe axle so that when the sections A and B are abutted against each other, they will entirely embrace the axle and rotate therewith. The sections A and B may be held in engagement with each other in any suitable manner, as by longitudinally extending bolts 35. Each disk 34 formed of the sections A and B is cut away at a plurality of points, as at 36, these recesses 36 being disposed in quartering relation to' each other. If there be four recesses, as illustrated, the line which divides the section A from the section B passes transversely through two of said recesses, as illustrated in Fig. 4 lso that two of the bolts pass through the intersections'of 'the sections A and B and two of the bolts 35 pass through solid portions iof `the sectionsvA and B. These disks 34 formed of vtlhe sections Aand B are disposed Vwith the plane b of' division between the sections A and B extending alternately vertically and horizont-ally so that the joints between the sections A and B of one disk' 34 do not match vthe lifter teeth have a certain amount of pivotal movement but will rotate with the Vcorresponding disk 34. The lifter teeth 33 are preferably detachably engaged with the corresponding stubs 37 by means of bolts or like devices and preferably the lifter teeth are yieldingly held from movement within the corresponding recesses 36 by coiled springs 39, which bear at one end against upwardly extending lugs formed uponthe disks 34, each spring at its other end bearing against the outer end of the corresponding stub 37 and being connected thereto in any suitable manner. These springs 39 will prevent the lifter teeth from being broken away when the lifter teeth strike the stones which have been gathered up by the raker teeth and start to lift them.

The lifter teeth rot-ate with the axle 12 as before stated and preferably these lifter teeth are curved in the direction of their movement so that as-the lifter teeth move upward, they will carry up with them the stones or other material gathered upon the raker teeth and when the lifter teeth pass the raker teeth, they will be in an approximately horizontal position and will carry the stones up with them. In order to provide means upon which the stones may be discharged, after they have been lifted by thel raker. teeth, I provide the conveyer bars designated 4l.` These bars at their rear ends are formed with sleeves 42 which loosely elnbrace the disks 34 and are disposed between the lifter teeth 33, as shown best in Fig. 3. As illustrated, the bars 41 are riveted to the sleeves or rings 42, and suiicient clearance is left between the rings 42 and the conveyer bars so as to permit the passage of said lifter teeth between said bars. These bars 41 normally extend downward and forward toward an elevator trough or box 43 mounted upon the frame of the machine and mounted upon this box or casing 43 are brackets 44 which support a transversely extending rail Hingedly mounted upon this rail 45 are a plurality of trip teeth 46, the hinges being so arranged that the trip teeth may turn downward to the position shown in Fig. 10. In order to draw the trip teeth back to their normal position with the extremities of the tripv teeth extending beneath the extremities of the conveyer bars 41, I referably provide each of the trip teeth 46 with a pin 47, which extends downward through an opening 48 in the rail 45, each of these pins or bolts 47 having a head 49 at its lower end and between this head and the rail 45 is disposed a coiled spring 50 whose tension causes the members fof 46 to be drawn backfto `their normal ypositions. Preferably' the etremities ylof the`- tripteeth 46 are formed" with upwardly eX-J I tendingv lateral flanges 51', which engage# in with'the correspondingconveyerbars 41 soa's to hold thetript bars in properalinement with the' corresponding Vconyeyer bars. 'The p purpose of this construction is to permit the conveyer barsel and "the trip teeth 16 `to move "downwardfincase Iastonel or othery piece of material` becomeblocked'between the lifter teeth `a-n'd `the conyeyer bars, as'Y illustrated in Fig.`10.` In this case, unless provision be made 'for the downward y*morferne'nt of /oneor more conveyer bars 4:1,e1her veyer bars will hebroken but byl this'construction Whenanobjeot is caught between a lifter tooth and one ormore' of the `con- Veyer'bar's 4 1, the trip teeth 4:6 will lgive per-4 v mitting the conveyer= bar "to Ymove downward tosuch a position that the stone will'be dis; chaigedupon" the ground. The 'depending' p tooth may then 'be carried back to its `origi#` nal position above the tooth 46 by hand.v ItV will', of course, be `understood that `the springs 50 are sufoiently strong-"to support.

the trip teeth 116in their normal position and thus support theconveyer barsftl in 'fio traction wheels andis ,suitably mounted on the frame so as to be disposed yon'a,` lower ylevel than the frameandV the rear sideol the conveyer trough opened-soithat the tripL teeth 16 will "dischargejir'ito kthe trough.

Preferably the side walls and bottom` wall of the trough are formed of longitudinally extending slats of woodV or metalv but 'I do not wish to be limited to this.,` Uperating along the bottornof this conyeyer'trough an endless conveyerml` formed offlinks, asg illustrated 1n Fig. 6, these links being pivv otally connected to each other [by vmeans of transverse bolts 53." ,"Certain ofthe links are.

provided with ears 5e and pivoted between these ears are theupwardly extending 'teeth' having rearwardly extending members 56 engaging over the' cross "bar of ,nthe links., This conyeyer QeXtends the full lengthvof the troughl 13 'and discl'iarges onto an jup-`r` wardly extending conveyer 57`4 mountedV in an ilpwardly extending trough or casinrgi,

which is supportednponthe frame `inany suitable manner fand is preferably' supported so 'that'. it may be raised or lowered. 'The upper endof this'casing l58 may be connected tothe trame by cables59, or any other suitf able manner. Suitable' driving means f are illustrated whereby the endless conveyers 52 and 57 maybeoperated bythe. rotation of the traction wheels of the machine. Ina-'s4 much as auf construction ofi this 'knd .iscom-Q mongand-.well known, 'I have notjdeemed it .lfleCeSSl-,ly"UQl describe thisv transmission gear-Ak Preferably the' shaft :12` passes through j'ournal'boxes 60 carriedqon theframe ofthe machine.' These .journal boxes-"maybeT construct'ed in any suitable manner but are preferably-proyided with "dust capsof the" form" illustrated in Figs.-7,v8 and 11. 'Each dustfcap` Glfconsist's of two'matinghalf sections, each section being Iformed-.with a s'einicircular opening" which, when:` the sections are joined' i define a circular opening.r y Eacho thesesecv Z tions Y'is formed with an angular flange on its thelifting teeth -willb'e broken orthe,V conouter ace,-designated 62, theiiang'e on the up:

l perfsection being seini-circu'larin form andthe flange onthe4v lower section being interrupt4 ed as zit-,68. Operating within the annular guideway' defined' by these `flanges 62" are washers l611 having each a` rsquare opening whichsurrounds the square 'end ithe shaft;A

It will, therefore, be seen that these'washer's Vare supported on the shafty andthelwashers in turn v4rotate within the guideway formed within the annular; flanges 62. Dust, dirt,"or

'otherfmatter will drop Vout through the-open- .ing 63." -]"do not wish to .limit m'yselfto this y .particular form of dustkcap or journal bearing-,jasother'orms-may be used, 'if desiredf f In Figs.' 11 and 12 I1 showthe manner in whiclrthe, members t15 are supported 1for ro- .tation around thel shaft 12. Asl illustrated, a` relatiyely hardv bearing member 65 sur#V .rounds the'lsquar'ed portion of the shaft 12.

Each member 15 is 1cnt' away to surround the vshaftfvand 'disposed within this cutawa'y portion ofeaN/Ch member 15 i's a vbearing' ring 66 Thus the bushing 66 vor bearing ring may be readily renewed wheneverworn or the bear- -ingf may be'readily renewed. Washers v68 are disposed on each sideof each member eotterpin 69 passing through the shaft.

*ofrelativelyhardlinetal, this bearing. ring? t A(i6-being`v formed 'atl opposite points Vwith` projections l67 which extend into recesses formed f in thev inner -face of the member 15.

losY

tis necessary, in this machineQthat'the ,erlebekw kept fromslidinglaterally with rela:`

tion to tlliejframe.' For instance, ifi the masid/'e of the machine (were ,down `hill,.the

A chinjeheon'a hillside vand Athe right hand`r 1.20 .tendency lof the axle would be to slideFas l l far as. possible 'against the righty hand side of the frame, but inasmuch as vthe axle" is square ,onl 'each side of the bearingsl'GO, the l axle Will bearl againstgthe' 'bearing on both sides of the frame. each side thusgetting 'an equal 'stra-in. The' axle andall that isv lon lit mustV not slip' laterally to any appre-k ciableextent lest the several rake teeth," the literarms, the carrierteeth andother like parts get out of'proper alinement. Hence itV is-.very important that provision be made preventing any lateral slip of the axle relative to the frame, but at the same time, of

Y course the axle should rotate freely.V

'The voperation of the invention will be obvious from whatY has gone before. The raker teethy 22, with their points 23, will Ygather up the stones, the-points 23 running slightly below the surface of` the, ground so as to dig up stones therefrom and as these stones gather upon the raker teeth, they will Ybfe lifted by the rotatable lifting teeth 33. As-the lifting teeth move upward along the raker teeth, they will carry the stones upward and eventually discharge them upon the conveyer bars 41 by which the stones will be rdirected onto the trip teeth 46 and by these teeth be carried to the elevator box or casing 43.V The endlesscarriers disposed in the elevator boxings or casings 43 and 57 will carry the stones upward and discharge them into a wagon traveling alongside the I purpose.

- so as to change the angle of the points.

While I have illustrated certain details of construction which I believe to be particularly effective for the purpose intended, I obviously do not wish to be limited to these details,` as kthe mechanism may be varied in many ways without departing from the spirit of the invention.

VAHaving described my invention, what I claim is 1. In a stone gatherer, a supporting frame, a truck upon which the frame yis mounted, a rotatable axle, a series of downwardly and forwardly curved raker teeth operatively supported rearward of the axle, a .series ofrrotatable lifting teeth mounted upon the axle to rotate therewith and moving upward and rearward past the raker teeth, and conveyer bars upon which the raker teeth dischage disposed in staggered relation to the raker teeth and said bars having frictional engagement at their rear ends with the axle, the Vforward ends of the bars being yieldingly held against rotation withv the axle.

Q. In Va Ystone gatherer, aY supporting frame, a rotatable axle, a series of downwardly and forwardly curved raker teeth operatively. supported rearward of the axle,

a series of rotatable lifting teeth mounted upon the axle to rotate therewith and moving upward and rearward past the raker teeth, conveyer bars upon which the raker teeth discharge disposed in staggered relation to the raker teeth, said conveyer bars having frictional operative engagement with the axle, whereby the conveyer bars may rotate with the axle when free to move, and members upon which'the conveyer bars discharge and supporting the forward ends of the conveyer bars, said members being yieldingly held from downward movement.

In a stone gatherer of the character described, a supporting frame, a truck upon which the frame is mounted, a rotatable axle, a series of raker teeth disposed rearward of the rear axle and disposed downward and forward and operatively supported upon the rear axle, a series of sets of lifter teeth mounted to rotate with the rear axle, each set comprising a plurality of radially directed raker teeth, said lifter teeth as they move upward and rearward coacting with the raker teeth to lift the Vstones thereon, a series of fixed conveyer bars having staggered relation to the lifter teeth and having their rear ends extending over the axle, said conveyer bars extending forward and downward, a transversely extending carrier onto which the stones are discharged from the conveyer bars, and means for yieldably supporting the forward ends of the conveyer bars so as to permit said ends to move downward in case a stone locks between the lifter teeth and the conveyer bars.

4. In a stone gatherer of the character described, a supporting'frame, a front truck upon which the frame is mounted, a rotatable rear axle, a series of ralrer teeth disposed rearward of the rear axle and disposed downward and forward and operatively supported upon the rear axle, a series of sets of lifter teeth mounted to rotate with the rear axle, each set comprising a plurality of radially directed raker teeth, said lifter teeth as they move upward and rearward coacting with the raker teeth to lift the stones thereon, a series of fixed conveyer bars having staggered relation to the lifter teeth and having their rear ends supported above the axle, said conveyer bars extending forward and downward, a transversely extending carrier onto which the stones ai'e discharged from the conveyer bars, means for yieldingly supporting the forward ends of the conveyer bars so as to permit said ends to move downward in case a stone locks between the lifter teeth and the conveyer bars, said means comprising trip teeth hingedly mounted and having their rear ends extending beneath the conveyer bars, and springs yieldingly holding the trip teeth in a normal position.

5. In a stone gatherer ofthe character described, a supporting frame, a Vfront wheeled truck supporting the vforwardend i of the frame, a rotatable axle mounted upon the rear end of the frame, trac; tion wheels `,connected Y to ,rotate withlA the rear axle,2 rr'nem'bersV "loosely mountedit upon the rear axle and having rearwardlyv t and vdownwardly. Tirand- E rearwardly extending arms, ,downwardly and forwardly /extendingf teeth y oper- 1' atively supported upon said arms andjfcon-e stituting a rake, means forraising or lower ing the rake, and a plurality of sets oflifting arms 'mounted upon the axle for frotan tion therewith, eachset consisting of a pluv extending arms rality of radially disposed farms coacting with the rake to ylift V*stones ltherefrom as the teeth move upward and rearward, and

means for receiving the stonesfrom said raker teeth as they move forwardv and downward.

axle, said axle being many-sided in cross section, a' downwardly and forwardly', ex-

tending rake operatively supported rear- -V ward of the axle,a plurality of disks mountcomprising a plurality of radially disposed teeth, the teeth ofy each set being operatively f connected to oneof said disks.

7. In a stone gathering mach1ne,a sup-1` porting frame, an axle rotatably mounted in the frame, traction wheels/rotating with*l the axle, said axle beingr many-sided in' cross section, a downwardly and forwardly extending rake operatively supported rearward of the axle, a pluralityof disksmount-f. ed upon the axle to rotate therewith," a,plu-,

ral'ity of sets of lifting teeth, each set comprising a plurality ofv radially disposed teeth, the teeth of each set being operatively"V connected to one ofsaid disks, and springsholding the teeth in normal l position with relation to the disk., v

8. In a stone gathering machine, ka sup-l. porting frame, a transversely extending rotatable axle mounted on the frame, traction wheels operatively connected to the'axle to rotate therewith, said axle being square in cross section for a portion ofitslength, rake comprising downwardly 'andi ,forwardly extending rake teeth operatively j supported upon the axle and disposedrean* ward thereof, a plurality'of disks 'mounted upon the axle to rotate therewith, eachdisk formed in two sections'and each disk havy', Y p I p Witnesses: cesses, the dividing line between thejtwo- Lf sections extending across two rof said'rep ing a plurality of inwardly?"extendingv refl Copies of this patent in ay vbe obtained forve cents eaclijLbyladelressing the foinmissjionerfof Baten,-

'/Waslnngtp'nJLCt cesses, said beingset Y.uponv theaxle i as vtovbreak joints, bolts passing longitudllnally through ,al-l of said disks and disposed through said recesses,`and a plurality rof `l setsyof-lifting teethjoperatively pivoted to.

said bolts, springs disposed in the. recesses 70,Vv

Aand holding the lifting teeth in,y a. normal position,but yieldingagainst impact ofthe `liftingteethwith stones, eachfset oflifting disposed between the l'lifting teeth,1 and downwardly and,forwardlyv extending stone conveyingbars attached tosaid sleevesfand v 'i between kwhich the" lifting teeth pass.

9,' In astone gathering machine, afsupe 'portingfframa a transversely extending rosoA tatable yaxle mounted'on'the frame', traction kwheels operatively connected to the axle to rotate therewith, `said axle being square in' cross :section for, aportion of its length, a Y I rake comprising downwardly and forwardly 6. In a stone gathering machine, afsupx porting frame, an axle rotatably mounted in the frame, traction wheels rotating with the jl extending Arake teeth Voperatively supported linfa plurality of ydisks .mounted upon the axle to rotate" therewith, eachl disk formed, in twosections and eachdisk having a plusy "rality ofinwardly Yextending"recesses, the *dividing'line'between the two sections exed upon the axle to rotate therewith, and.A a plurality ofsets of-lifting teeth, each set tending j' acrossl'two'fof said recesses, said 'disksb'eing set upon the axle so as'gtopbreak ,1 joints, lbolts passing longitudinally through-i all ofy saidv disks-and'fdisposed through said, u` V'recesses, a ,plurality of sets of `liftingteeth operatively pivoted tosaid bolts, springs y disposed in the rece'ssesfand holding the lifting teeth vin a normalposition but yield- I ingagainst4 impact of thefliftingerte'e'th with l the'rflifting teeth` downwardly! and fortending,k conveyer Y mounted uponv the frame of the machineand includingia conveyor stones,y eachsetof :lifting teeth being spaced f :-y from the adjacent sets, sleeves looselysurl p rounding. thev disks j and disposed; between 5? i' e e iro casing, plurality-1 of trip teeth hingedlyA f mounted l upon the conveyercasing, extend-v ing` forward.` and 'beneath the conveyerbarsv *n and.` supporting the 'forward endsof the ,coni veyer bars from depression, and, y,In'eans yie'ldingly' holding the trip teeth in the last jnamed position, buty yielding toperinit the depression of the' conveyer teeth, 'under strain.- f

VIn testimony' whereof I hereunto aiiix mysignaturein the presence `of two witnesses.

HELENAG SGHARF, l I vIlnIEDA SCHARF.

vloris F. REITER.

` Y i :ci 

